Rosie our Airstream Home
Rosie has been SOLD!
We are ‘snowbirds’ from Canada, 60 something, who have always tried to have a small footprint. We were environmentalists and vegetarians long before it was the ‘in thing’. In our retirement we sold all the trappings of our old lives and travelled in a van and backpacking tent. That proved to be the most liberating experience of our lives! It came to be though, that we wanted a home base in Canada so we bought a bit of land and built…by ourselves…as small a cottage as the local bylaws would allow. Winters, however, have been spent in Texas pursuing our simple passion for birding. For this purpose we bought an 1983 Airstream Excella, that we named Rosie, to refurbish and be our winter home. We have been comfortably living in ROSIE’s 232 sq ft for 4 months a year. She has everything we need and more. We enjoyed the challenge of making her liveable and easy to maintain.
A change came over us this winter though. We decided that we needed less space! We would like to explore but do not own a tow vehicle for Rosie. We needed to think even smaller and lighter to make more travel affordable; we needed to think even simpler to make boondocking possible. So, to that end, we have purchased a used 17 ft Casita Spirit Deluxe, already named Megg (for the EGG that it is 
), that our Toyota can easily tow. We will be downsizing to 102 sq ft! Our plans are to stay down south for even longer periods, maybe up to 6 months. We’ll have the option of summer trips up north too.
Here are photos of Rosie. She’s a nice blend of modern and vintage with lots of other interesting changes possible. There is so much storage for clothing, kitchen equipment, food bought in bulk, and tools. The rear frame was extended and an aluminum truck box added for extra outside storage. (We had planned to change the twin beds into a queen (and have the parts to do it) but we found we both got a better sleep in separate spaces. LOL) Rosie would make a comfortable tiny home, home away from home, studio, office, or bunkie for guests.
Photos of Megg will be forthcoming as soon as we get settled in her and ‘nest’. We look forward to enjoying our even tinier winter home. Less is more!
Thanks so much for listening to our tiny story.
Hazel & John
If you are interested in purchasing Rosie email bluebird@chickadees.ca ”All reasonable offers considered for a quick sale!” ;-)
32 Responses to “Rosie our Airstream Home”
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What a great story about trading things for experiences.Less is really more.I wrote a post about free tiny houses for everyone on my blog.It really is about living free from debt and pursuing your passion .
Beautiful!
Well done! Cozy, clean, bright and attractive inside and out. I still have more day-job working years but that nomadic lifestyle is what I’m heading towards.
What’s considered a “reasonable offer”?
Wow! This is beautiful and this is for the ‘Major League’. This is the Rolls Royce of RV’s
Enjoy!
Rosie is lovely! And I hope you enjoy Megg. I have a 13-foot Scamp myself and absolutely love it.
She’s beautiful! You’ve done well!
Thank you so much, everyone! We just returned from a road trip to pick up our ‘new to us’ Casita. We prefer to buy used over new since the earth doesn’t need any more new things. Also, a used trailer would have ‘gassed off’ already and be healthier to live in.
Name change: now that we’ve met her, the Casita’s name is WREN! Carolina Wrens were singing for the entire visit there!
Please email us if you are seriously interested in ROSIE. We do want some of our money out of our ROSIE investment but are willing to compromise for a good home and a quick sale now that we have WREN.
That is one shiny heap of awesome. I was so distracted by the photos I couldn’t even read the article.
ROTFL I’ll always remember that ROSIE was a ‘shiny heap of awesome’!
I was showing the photos of Rosie to my wife this evening, and she pointed out that your bedspreads are the exact same ones that I have.
Your taste is impeccable.
I commend you for pursuing your dreams! Love your tiny story!
ROSIE is a dream and she looks sparkling inside and out. I think the red touches are perfect.
I can’t wait to hear about your adventures in WREN, as I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article.
Best, Barb
Thanks! ROSIE has been a comfortable home base while we birded down here in Texas. No matter what big, expensive rigs pull into the park, everyone wants to chat about ‘the Airstream’. Character, personality, and graceful aging!
We have more than $20,000 invested in ROSIE but would like to get as close to $15,000 as we can to cover most of the cost of WREN. ROSIE is currently registered in Florida so there is an American title.
Hazel & John … good luck in your down-sizing endeavors. Look forward to reading about “Adventures with Megg”
Thank you, Randy! It’ll be ‘Adventures with WREN’! Downsizing is proving to be a humbling challenge but a good life lesson.
Hazel and John,
I am a fulltimer living in a 25′ Airstream with my two dogs. I run the AirstreamList, a yahoo group, and just posted Rosie for sale…. If I didn’t have a trailer I love, I’d buy her! You’ve done wonderful work on her.
Hunter Hampton
Thank you so much, Hunter. What a wonderful life fulltiming in an Airstream! We have friends from Michigan with a 25 footer who travel extensively.
Airstreams have such character, don’t they? Each seems to have its own personality.
Thank you for your help.
This is really nice!!! I love the red and white colors inside Rosie. Beautiful!
Rosie is great. Having lived in a 27 foot Airstream Land Yacht named Stella, for 5 years straight, it can be a liberating experience. I am ready to do it again. mar
It IS liberating! I’m so happy to hear that you named your Airstream too.
We’ve reduced the price again to $12,900. In a week we’re moving on in the Casita!
Yes, we’ve reduced the price again hoping to prevent ROSIE from going to sit on a lot and be sold on consignment. Finding a good new owner is more important to us than the money.
Hello Hazel,
Two questions – what is the headroom inside Rosie? She looks like a newer model than our son’s – he just barely avoids ducking his head at 6’3″. Second, is there room to add an extra long twin bed in the rear bedroom? That’s our usual problem with small spaces – my husband is 2 meters tall!
My hubby is 6’1″ and fits but I’m not sure what 2 more inches would do. We had planned to turn the twins into a queen sideways. Airstreams are built like a Meccano set so it’s easy to do renos.
Where do you have Rosie currently? In Texas?
Yes, Robin, in Mission, TX in the Rio Grande Valley. She will be hauled to Texas RV Traders in La Feria on Monday to be sold on consignment. ;-(
has she sold yet??
Please contact her with the information above.
Rosie is beautiful! If we didn’t already have a 17′ Casita LD, I’d buy her in a minute. Can’t wait to see the mods you come up with for Wren:) Happy Trails!
Here it is 6 weeks later and we’re still getting inquiries about ROSIE. It’s obvious that people have dreams…dreams of minimalism or freedom or adventure…and that an old Airstream named ROSIE is a symbol for those dreams. ROSIE has been sold but your dreams still need fulfilling! Do it! Life is short. Live your dreams!
check out http://www.streamshinepolish.com, these guys do great restoration and polish work in Central Texas, downtown Austin. they may be able to help you find a vintage airstream!!